Mixed Results for Efforts to Expand Youth Vote in San Francisco, Oakland

San Francisco and Oakland voters sent different signals Tuesday night on local measures that aim to expand the youth vote.

In Oakland, voters were showing strong support for Measure QQ, which gives the city council the power to allow people as young as 16 to vote for School Board directors.

Oakland Tech High School student Malia Liao, 17, is one of the student leaders who campaigned for Measure QQ. 

“I felt the push to work on this because I come from an immigrant family. So I’ve seen firsthand what it looks like to be pushed out of the decision making process,” she said. “This is my chance to create a platform for all of these students that also come from immigrant backgrounds.”

Jessica Ramos, 17, a student at Skyline High, said the support for Measure QQ shows that residents in the city value the voices of students and young people.

“It will be great to finally have a voice and a vote that will go down in history and hold school board members accountable” she said.

San Francisco’s Proposition G, which would amend the city charter to lower the voting age to 16 for local elections and ballot measures, appeared headed towards a narrow defeat Tuesday night.

San Francisco Youth Commissioner Arianna Nassiri, who led the campaign for the ballot proposition, said young people are actively impacted by local measures and should have a say.

Opponents argued that people under 18 are still legally children and easily swayed by adults.

A similar measure narrowly lost in San Francisco in 2016.

“It takes essentially trial and error to get the message across that not only are young people prepared to vote, but they actually need to vote,” Nassiri said. “The trajectory of youth activism, not only in the city but in the whole country, is on the upward right now.”

Expanding who can vote was also presented to voters in two statewide propositions: Proposition 17 to restore the vote to people on parole and Proposition 18 to allow 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections if they turn 18 before the general election.

— Holly McDede (@HollyMcDede)